Government Contracts

July 05, 2024
The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court

This U.S. Supreme Court term featured high-stakes oral arguments on issues including gerrymandering, abortion and federal agency authority, and a hot bench ever more willing to engage in a lengthy back-and-forth with advocates. Here's a look at the law firms that argued the most cases and how they fared.
July 03, 2024
HHS Scores Early Win In Boehringer's Medicare Pricing Suit

A Connecticut federal judge on Wednesday sided with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Boehringer Ingelheim's challenge to a new Medicare drug price negotiation program, rejecting the pharmaceutical company's claim that the program is unconstitutional.
July 03, 2024
JV Questioned Over Small Biz's Role Can't Upend $50M Deal

A joint venture couldn't upend a $50 million IT contract, failing to convince the U.S. Government Accountability Office that a federal officer was wrong to question what its protégé member brought to the table during an early stage of bidding, the GAO has said.
July 03, 2024
Sandy Cleanup Workers Agree To End Prevailing Wage Suit

Five workers told a New Jersey federal judge they agreed to put to rest their suit against a disaster recovery company and a waterfront building company claiming they should have been paid prevailing wages while clearing roadways and waterways in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
July 03, 2024
Appeals Board Tosses Revived License Breach Dispute

The Civilian Board of Contract Appeals has again tossed a dispute, previously revived by the Federal Circuit, alleging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration breached a software company's end-user license agreement, saying it lacks jurisdiction to enforce the agreement.
July 03, 2024
Chevron Reversal May Shift Contract Dispute Outcomes

The U.S. Supreme Court's upending of its 40-year-old Chevron doctrine, which deferred to federal agencies' interpretation of ambiguous legislation, could reverberate outside the statutory realm and give government contractors an edge while contesting agencies' read of contract language, experts say.
July 03, 2024
After Chevron Deference: What Lawyers Need To Know

This term, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference, a precedent established 40 years ago that said when judges could defer to federal agencies' interpretations of law in rulemaking. Here, catch up with Law360's coverage of what is likely to happen next.
July 02, 2024
Contractor Says Chevron Reversal 'Upends' Navy Deal Suit

A military contractor seeking to undo the U.S. Navy's contract with a competitor for support services at European bases has told the Federal Circuit that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent overturning of the so-called Chevron doctrine "upends" the underlying decision in its suit.
July 02, 2024
Challenge To Army Container Corrective Action Dismissed

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims on Monday swept aside a challenge to the U.S. Army Materiel Command's revamped Army shipping container project.
July 02, 2024
'Idle' Ga. Election Officials Holding Up Suit, Judge Told

Lawyers for an array of plaintiffs challenging portions of Georgia's 2021 election overhaul law attempted with one hand to convince a federal judge Tuesday not to scuttle their claims before a trial, while with the other urged the court to put the suit on ice until "dysfunctional" elections officials get their act together.
July 02, 2024
Gov't Urged To Gauge TransDigm Deals' Effect On Defense Biz

Three Democratic lawmakers are pressing the U.S. Department of Defense and antitrust enforcers to review an aerospace company's recent acquisition of two other companies, citing antitrust and price gouging concerns.
July 02, 2024
Alaska Village Hits Army Corps With Gold Mine Permit Suit

The Native Village of Dot Lake is asking an Alaska federal judge to throw out a permit the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued for an open pit gold mine Kinross Gold Corp. and Peak Gold LLC are developing near the Yukon border.
July 01, 2024
High Court's 1-2 Punch Sets Up Long-Standing Regs For KO

By ending its term with a stinging combination against federal agencies, the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative bloc left behind a bruised bureaucracy and a regulatory system that's now vulnerable to a barrage of incoming attacks.
July 01, 2024
Guatemala Says $31M Award Can't Be Enforced In U.S.

Guatemala told a D.C. federal court on Friday that litigation filed by a construction and engineering firm to enforce $31 million in arbitral awards against it must be tossed, saying the underlying arbitration and dispute are entirely Guatemalan in nature.
July 01, 2024
Military Store Service Says Blind Vendors Must Follow Process

The U.S. Department of Defense asked a federal judge on Monday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by blind entrepreneurs accusing the military of ignoring a law that requires officials to prioritize businesses owned by blind people, arguing that the merchants should have completed the administrative process first.
July 01, 2024
GAO Says CMS Treated Bids On $34M Security Deal Differently

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has sustained a protest over a $34 million Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services task order for information technology security services, saying CMS treated the credentials of key employees differently for the protester and the awardee.
July 01, 2024
Lack Of 'Diligence' Dooms Conn. IT Co.'s Contract Suit

A Connecticut state judge has thrown out a lawsuit brought by an information technology company that accused a rival of poaching a municipal contract with the city of Hamden in violation of a subcontracting agreement, writing that the parties did not file a joint schedule by a court-ordered deadline.
July 01, 2024
Admiral, CEOs Deny Steering Navy Contracts

A retired four-star Navy admiral and two executives at a leadership training company pled not guilty to charges of conspiracy and bribery Monday morning in D.C. federal court, vowing to take the U.S. Department of Justice's case to trial.
July 01, 2024
GSK Wants Lab's Zantac Whistleblower Suit Moved To Florida

GlaxoSmithKline wants a Connecticut laboratory's federal whistleblower lawsuit moved from Pennsylvania to Florida, where a West Palm Beach court has already overseen four years of a multidistrict litigation that GSK said was touched off by the same lab's claims that Zantac breaks down into a cancer-causing chemical.
July 01, 2024
Texas Agency Urges Top Court To End Court Reporter's Suit

The administrative agency tasked with oversight of court stenography in Texas asked the state's Supreme Court on Friday to shut down a court reporter's push to force it to investigate a digital transcription company, arguing that the agency doesn't have jurisdiction.
July 01, 2024
Supreme Court Widens Window To Challenge Federal Regs

Legal challenges to federal regulations can be brought outside the normal statute of limitations if someone isn't adversely affected until after the six-year window of time to file suit, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday.
June 28, 2024
Chevron's End Is Just The Start For Energized Agency Foes

By knocking down a powerful precedent that has towered over administrative law for 40 years, the U.S. Supreme Court's right wing Friday gave a crowning achievement to anti-agency attorneys. But for those attorneys, the achievement is merely a means to an end, and experts expect a litigation blitzkrieg to materialize quickly in the aftermath.
June 28, 2024
Quinn Slammed By Columbia For Its 'Continuing Audacity'

Columbia University shot back Friday against arguments from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP that Federal Circuit judges should disregard arguments made by the firm's former client, who says the firm lied to a federal court in Virginia to avoid damaging testimony in a $600 million patent case.
June 28, 2024
CUNY Medical Prof Accused Of Fabricating NIH Grant Apps

A medical professor at the City College of New York and paid adviser to Cassava Sciences has been indicted on allegations he falsified scientific data in grant applications submitted to the National Institutes of Health on behalf of himself and Cassava, prosecutors announced Friday.
June 28, 2024
In Chevron Case, Justices Trade One Unknown For Another

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overrule a decades-old judicial deference doctrine may cause the "eternal fog of uncertainty" surrounding federal agency actions to dissipate and level the playing field in challenges of government policies, but lawyers warn it raises new questions over what rules courts must follow and how judges will implement them.

Expert Analysis

The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.
Inside Higher Education's New FCA Liability Challenges

As the educational sector expands its use of government funding, schools are at increased risk under the False Claims Act, but recent settlements offer valuable lessons about new theories of liability they may face and specific procedures to reduce their exposure, say James Zelenay and Jeremy Ochsenbein at Gibson Dunn.
HHS Advisory Highlights Free Product Inducement Risks

A recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advisory opinion highlights concerns that valuable free products and other inducements may influence patients and providers to choose one manufacturer’s product over another, notwithstanding that such free healthcare products may be a benefit, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities

Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.
Bribery Bill Fills Gap In Foreign Corruption Enforcement

Congress recently passed the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act, significantly expanding the U.S. government's ability to prosecute foreign officials who seek or demand bribes, but if enacted, the legislation could also create tension with other nations, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray and Mayer Brown.
In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023

Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
Contract Disputes Recap: Termination and Accrual

Edward Arnold and Bret Marfut at Seyfarth Shaw examine three recent decisions that illustrate why contractors should consider, during the bidding process, impediments to their ability to meet contract requirements, and the need to track the accrual dates of individual claims that may arise during performance to avoid being time-barred.
How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season

Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
5 Gifts That May Run Afoul Of Government Ethics Rules

As the holiday season ramps up, it’s essential to keep in mind that government officials and employees are all subject to specific gift rules, and related violations can lead to consequences far worse than coal in one’s stocking, say Mark Renaud and Rob Walker at Wiley.
What DOD Commercial Product Rule Means For Contractors

A recent amendment to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, along with forthcoming changes to the definition of what constitutes a subcontract, will offer some relief for commercial products and services contractors, but the U.S. Department of Defense should do more to reduce regulatory burdens, say Daniel Ramish and Jonathan Shaffer at Haynes Boone.
Series

Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.
Inside New Classified Contract Guidance For Joint Ventures

A recent Information Security Oversight Office notice clarifies the interplay between small business joint-venture rules and eligibility determinations for U.S. Department of Defense classified contracts, but it's still unclear how this should be interpreted for non-DOD procurements, says Todd Overman at Bass Berry.
Opinion

Giving The Gov't Drug Patent March-In Authority Is Bad Policy

The Biden administration's recent proposal to allow government seizure of certain taxpayer-funded drug patents is a terrible idea that would negate the benefits of government-funded research, to the detriment of patients and the wider economy, says Wayne Winegarden at Pacific Research Institute.
How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys

Excerpt from Practical Guidance

Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
When Patients Have Standing For Hospital Antitrust Suits

Brown v. Hartford Healthcare Corp., recently decided by a Connecticut state court, provides a useful examination of how antitrust standing issues may be analyzed when patients directly sue a healthcare system for anti-competitive conduct, says Charles Honart at Stevens & Lee.